


Running

by TenSpencerRiedPlease



Series: What Ifs And Role Reversals [8]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Developing Relationship, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Protective Bucky Barnes, Tony Being Tony, Tony Has Issues, as usual, because i dont even know what this bitch is, but then it turned into some shit I did not expect, i hope yall like it, i saw the prompt and was like ooooo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 21:15:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12920403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TenSpencerRiedPlease/pseuds/TenSpencerRiedPlease
Summary: Tony first started seeing the man when he was seventeen, shortly after his parents died. At first he thought he was seeing shit, going crazy due to too much alcohol consumption and grief, but then he put up the cameras.It turned out Tony didn’t see the man often, but he was there all the time.Based offthisprompt.





	Running

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I have no clue how this happened. I had some ideas, and as per usual when writing my ideas got away from me and something completely different happened. Also I know Tony's parents died when he was 21 but for some reason I keep thinking he was 17? Whatever, they died when he was 17 now bitches lol.
> 
> Oh- and I know this whole series is basically Iron Man stuff but I swear I have plans for different situations with other Marvel characters. I've got one with Steve half written! I swear it isn't all Tony! Anyways, as the latest installment in this series I hope y'all like it :)

Tony first started seeing the man when he was seventeen, shortly after his parents died. At first he thought he was seeing shit, going crazy due to too much alcohol consumption and grief, but then he put up the cameras. It turned out Tony didn’t see the man often, but he was there all the time. When he discovered that this guy hung around all the time, seemingly stalking him, he had freaked out but by then it had been a year. There had been no contact, no threats, nothing that indicated that the man in the black suit was any danger- except maybe the suit itself. It was clearly some kind of military grade material and it was well constructed and well used, but there wasn’t evidence that whatever this guy was into he was going to hurt Tony.

So for years Tony noted the man in black in his peripheral vision, he’d see him at galas, catch a flash of him when he took someone home, or catch a glimpse of him in the gardens, but the man never said a word. Even after almost a decade there was still no contact, not even some weird and subtle form of contact like leaving obscure messages by the roses the man seemed to like. It was confusing and Tony didn’t get it, but he did put more roses in the garden and a bench so the guy could at least sit while he smelled them.

No one else noticed he was there, which led Tony to believe the man intentionally hid from them but not from him, which made even less sense considering the lack of contact.

*

He’s at the office late working on his paperwork so Pepper didn’t yell at him in the morning, and rightfully so given how long he’s put it off, when the man walks through the door. Tony stares at him for a long few moments, absently noting that he’s actually quite attractive, but it’s lost to the confusion of why he was so close. He never got this close. This curiosity peaks when he notices that the man looked frightened when he usually had a blank expression on his face- the kind Tony usually saw on soldiers who’ve seen too much.

“Run,” he says and Tony frowns.

“Run?” he asks, confused. He gets an annoyed stare back and for a few beats they sit like that with Tony confused and the man obviously also confused as to why Tony wasn’t listening.

“You need to go,” he says eventually.

“My plane doesn’t take off until morning, I’m fine,” he says but he looks at the clock, wondering if this guy was trying to give him the world’s weirdest warning to go catch his plane on time. He wasn’t, the plane wasn’t set to leave for another six and a half hours.

“You can’t go,” the man says and Tony squints.

“Why not?” he asks. If this was some kind of misplaced worry Tony would be fine- Rhodey would be there and Rhodey would never let anything bad happen to him. And _someone_ had to show off that missile and Tony didn’t trust Obi with explosives. You needed training to handle that shit, which was why he was going. And because he wanted to visit Rhodey- it was a useful two in one.

“You’re going to die,” the man says and Tony rolls his eyes, done with this.

“Look, maybe you’ve been following me around for ten years but I highly doubt that’s given you the ability to predict my future. Go back to hanging out with the roses,” he tells him, flicking his wrist in an obvious dismissal gesture. Briefly he rethinks whether or not this guy could be dangerous but dismisses it quickly. He’s had his chances to hurt Tony- _many_ chances to hurt him- but he’s never taken them. If he had any desire to see him suffer Tony would have already fallen victim to it.

Out of the corner of his eye he sees the man move, stalking closer until he’s at the edge of Tony’s desk not that Tony pays attention. He’s pointedly ignoring the man. “You are selfish, reckless and cruel- there are many that will think you deserve what’s going to happen to you,” he says and he drops a file on Tony’s desk. He stays just long enough to ensure that Tony opens it and then he leaves.

The file, which didn’t contain much, had more than enough information with definitive proof said information was true, to change the course of Tony’s entire life.

*

Obadiah happens to find the file on Tony’s desk looking for that paperwork the spoiled, ungrateful little brat had been putting off for almost a month. He swears under his breath and abandons finding the papers for now so he could ensure that his plan went the way it was supposed to. And he would, mark his words, figure out who tipped Tony off and make them _pay_.

*

The Soldier doesn’t remember when he got free, when he started following Tony, or why. But after awhile it was habit to follow the man around even if he wasn’t fond of him at first. Selfish was a nice way of explaining the man’s actions, and reckless probably gave him too much credit. Tony Stark was rude, entitled, a drunk, and so incredibly empty that he was willing to risk his life and others just to feel something. This was behavior that was, oddly, encouraged by his business partner despite the negative affects it could have on the company. It was odd considering how concerned Stane was about money, but Tony was too caught up in his own emotional mess to pay attention to the discrepancy. The Soldier knew what it was to feel empty though- but he didn’t understand Stark’s lack of empathy towards others. Maybe that was why he stuck around.

It took a long time, longer than he would have expected, to find the man Tony Stark really was. Underneath that irritating, arrogant, flippant, reckless, _asshole_ exterior Stark was actually quite soft and caring. The problem was that he wore a mask of entitlement and arrogance so often that the Soldier began to wonder if even Tony was unaware of who he really was.

He watched, for several months, as Tony recklessly ruined his own life and the lives of everyone around him before something interesting happened. Pepper, a far more patient woman than the Soldier would be if he were in her position, was putting him to bed one night after he had gotten too drunk _again_ when he sits up. “Tony, I am exhausted, lay back down,” she tells him in a stern, annoyed tone that Tony generally ignored most of the time.

“I’m not going anywhere, Pep,” he slurs out. “I just… do you ever wish I wasn’t me?” he asks.

The Soldier frowns just as Pepper does, “I don’t even know what that means, Tony,” she tells him.

“I’m an _asshole_ ,” he says. The Soldier was inclined to agree with that assessment and then some. “I don’t know how it got this way. I never wanted it to be like this,” he says softly.

Pepper softens at that and so does the Soldier. “Than don’t be, Tony. I know that somewhere in there you’re a good man, and you do too.”

Tony seems to consider this for a long moment. “I’ve never been comfortable with my reputation,” he mumbles, “but I’ll never outlive it now.” Pepper leave and the next morning Obadiah Stane was there, pushing Tony out of bed and into work even as Tony protested going. He claimed he needed time to think, Obadiah insisted he do his thinking in the lab. Tony went, ignoring his words from the night before to do what Obadiah wanted.

His justification for his behavior was, as far as the Soldier was concerned, a piss poor excuse to continue acting like a selfish ass, but it did leave him wanting to know more about Tony, and more about Obadiah Stane too. So for years he watched, noticing again and again how Tony seemed to have a blatant disregard for himself and everyone else around him and how little Stane seemed to care about this. There were moments though that gave the Soldier a snatch of hope as he watched Tony move though life.

They were usually small things like remembering Pepper’s coffee order, or remembering what shows his driver watched and watching them too even though he didn’t like them. He watched them, as far as the Soldier could tell, just to talk with Happy about them. There were things he’d do for Rhodey too, like taking the blame for his mistakes when he made them, or going out of his way to be there for him if needed. And then, of course, there were the roses. He hadn’t even noticed his preference for the flower for years- he was too used to not being allowed to like anything- but eventually he identified what he was feeling and often spent time with Tony’s roses. They were often far prettier and less aggravating than their owner.

Tony noticed, the Soldier knew he did because he always seemed to notice the Soldier even when no one else did, but he hadn’t expected him to plant more roses. Tony disliked the gardens, they were only there because Pepper insisted on them and Tony, despite running her ragged in all sorts of ways he had no right to, often deferred to her opinion on things of that nature. It was also how he had acquired a sizable art collection that really should belong to Pepper, who more than earned it. So when more roses appeared and Pepper complained that it threw off the garden design he knew the flowers were not her doing.

Tony had planted the flowers, and the bench in the middle of them, only for his benefit. For years he followed the man around for almost no other reason than habit, never made contact with him, never interfered in his life in any way, and Tony established fist contact by giving him several more flowerbeds filled with his preferred flower. He had no idea what to make of that knowing how selfish Tony was on any given day. There was no reason to do something nice for him- he was a near non-presence in Tony’s life- and yet he still took the time to plant flowers for someone no one but him even knew existed.

And that was a whole new issue altogether- Tony Stark being the only person who ever seemed to see him at all, even when he wasn’t hiding.

All the things that Tony did were so small they were barely there, but they were all things that contrasted so heavily with Tony’s image of the selfish, spoiled, ignorant rich boy that he had to wonder how much of each man was real.

It wasn’t until the Soldier found Obadiah’s plans to have Tony killed that he would find out which Tony was the real one. In hindsight he should have guessed that, in his usual fashion, Tony would dismiss him but it still threw him off when it happened. He also probably should have kept his opinions on Tony to himself because when he discovers Obadiah’s _new_ plan to kill Tony off he had to intercept Tony on his way home and the man wasn’t pleased about it at all.

“I thought you told me I was selfish and would deserve what I get,” he snaps, glaring at the Soldier.

“You are selfish, but no one deserves to be killed over a petty vendetta,” he says even though plenty of people had more than a petty vendetta against him. Tony was good at making enemies and terrible at making friends.

Tony glares at him for another long, tense moments before something in his falls away and he looks exhausted and concerned. “That stuff about the terrorists, is that true? Are my weapons being sold to terrorists?” he asks softly.

The Soldier pauses for a moment but nods, “everything I’ve found more than suggests it.” The Soldier had never been fond of Obadiah Stane, he spent far too much time encouraging Tony to be as selfish and cruel as he was, but when he overheard a telling conversation some of the reasons why came into focus.

For a moment Tony seems to forget he’s there as he slumps against the doorway to his lab, eyes unfocused on what was in front of him. “How did you find this out?” he asks softly.

“I watch what’s going on around me and pay attention to the patterns. Obadiah Stane was invested in making sure you partied as much as possible and I wanted to know why. When I looked this is what I found,” he says.

Tony straightens up and his demeanor changes. He goes from looking lost and confused to determined and motivated and he’s direction his attention at the Soldier. “Explain how you found all this information and show me. Obadiah isn’t a stupid man- he wouldn’t leave information like this laying around.”

The Soldier nods and gestures for Tony to follow him.

*

Tony sort of wondered where the man in black lived but as it turned out he managed to hack Tony’s defense system on the garage and didn’t leave evidence for his existence there. He knew he came often when the bots wheeled up and greeted him without any distressed beeps or flailing arms. “How’d you break in?” he asks. His defense systems were technically hackable, but the person would have to be beyond smart to even begin to succeed.

“I watched you put in the code for several years. The garage is warmer than the garden,” the man says and Tony shakes his head, fucking _floored_ that this guy slept here too. JARVIS had never said anything about it but then JARVIS was supposed to recognize threats and this guy clearly wasn’t one.

“What about the winter?” Tony asks. Obviously he would have slept inside for that season even when he was sleeping in the garden. _Especially_ when he was sleeping in the garden.

“Still in the garden,” he says and Tony frowns, wondering how the hell he was _alive_. “The cold doesn’t bother me,” he says in response to Tony’s unasked question.

“That’s an understatement,” Tony mumbles. “Show me everything you have on Obi,” he says, changing the subject because he had bigger fish to fry considering his weapons were apparently being sold to _terrorists_ and Obadiah almost certainly set him up for treason. Its what Tony would do in Obi’s place not that he wanted to consider that…

The man in black, the one who couldn’t seem to remember his name if the blank, someone panicked expression on this face was any indication, shows him how he found information on Obi and boy does Tony find more. The man’s ability to hack was impressive by normal standards, but it was invasive too. The fact that Obi hadn’t noticed was pure luck and Tony immediately erases all evidence of a hack, or buries what he couldn’t obliterate, while searching everything he could on Obadiah. The results were, at best, incredibly damning.

Tony finds information going back _years_ on Obi’s under the table deals- and evidence that Tony never saw any of the money from it (he had been relieved) in part because the one time Obi slipped up and Tony ended up with a higher bottom line than normal he had immediately investigated. Obi, who appeared to be in contact with terror groups all over the world, spoke at length about Tony’s wasted potential, how spoiled he was, and how irresponsible he was. He never mentioned Tony by name- it seemed his terrorist buddies were all just as interested in what Tony could do with weapons as Obi was- which was how he talked a group called the Ten Rings into killing Tony. Except they didn’t know it was Tony Obi ordered the hit on, and with _Tony’s_ money no less. The fucking bastard was too stingy to even use his own money to have Tony killed; instead he decided that Tony was literally going to pay for his own fucking death.

He finds all sorts of other things too, things that pull him further and further back into Obadiah’s history until he hits a familiar date in the December of 1991. For a long moment he freezes over the files attached to the date, unsure if he really wanted to know what was in them. “Are you okay?” the man asks, looking at Tony with a touch of concern on his features.

Tony swallows hard, “this… was the night my parents died,” he says softly even though he knows in his gut that isn’t a true statement anymore. The accident, however it went down, wasn’t an accident at all- he could feel it. But he didn’t want to confirm it.

The hand on his shoulder makes him jump. “Sometime happened to me that day too, but I can’t remember what,” the man says softly and Tony looks up at him. He’s mostly blank but Tony can see what’s underneath, how he’s just a little lost and certainly confused. He wondered if the only thing this guy really knew was that he liked Tony’s roses and, for some reason, didn’t want Tony dead. It wasn’t like he was exactly invested in Tony’s life; he was just _there_ so why did he go through the effort of trying to stave off Tony’s death? He’d ask later maybe.

“How did you end up here?” Tony asks, jumping at the opportunity to distract himself even if it was just for a moment.

The man shrugs, “I don’t know. I don’t know why I follow you- I just… became aware that I was one day and it became habit. I don’t even know who I am. I barely know who you are,” he admits.

Well, Tony thinks, that made two of them. “What the fuck are we going to do?” he asks more to himself than his weird companion.

*

What they ended up doing was going under ground- Tony’s solution to things until he could find all the evidence he needed to bring Obadiah and the Ten Rings down. He contacts Pepper to let her know what’s going on and not to worry about him, and he makes sure to tell Rhodey too but he instructs them both to act like they have no idea where he went. JARVIS, he told them, would do the rest. The AI was instructed to keep Tony’s lab on high lockdown- actually he was instructed to make sure everything outside of the news and social media feeds had gone completely dark wherever he was concerned. That meant that it would be difficult if not impossible for Obadiah to run his underground arms deals just because of the company name, but he had JARVIS make that go dark too just in case.

All in all it took a matter of hours to give out commands to his bots, let Pepper and Rhodey know what was going on in a code he and Rhodey invented when they were kids- he knew Pepper would call Rhodey to figure out what the fuck it was- and he was gone like he had never existed to begin with. The rest though, his companion took care of that. His advice was to travel light, only use cash, stay in seedy hotels where people wouldn’t look too close to whomever is coming and going, and he had all this food advice that Tony never would have remembered. Needless to say after two days of that shit Tony was missing living in style, after a week he was plain pissed off, and after a month he was _really_ pissed off because Obadiah wasn’t stupid and neither were terrorists apparently.

Obviously none of them would have real proof that it was Tony hacking them and taking all their information though leaving behind hordes of digital traps might have tipped them off. Regardless they had started fighting back two weeks into this venture and they were only starting to get good. Obadiah was feeding them Tony’s usual code constructions- it would be the only way they’d be able to keep up.

“If they figure out how you code you’re fucked,” James- Tony nicknamed him that because he looked freakishly like James Barnes and it was weird talking to someone without a name- says.

Tony snorts, “ _hell_ no, I’ve already changed the way I code like five times since this started. They still can’t get out of half my attacks, and Obi is feeding them old information. They’re doing _better_ , but there’s no way they’ll win this fight,” he says confidently.

James looks skeptical, “is that an objective opinion or one made out of arrogance?” he asks. Oh yeah, James didn’t bother to hide how he felt about Tony. Namely that he thought Tony was a complete asshole and Tony wasn’t inclined to disagree.

“My company is the best tech company in the world- objective fact based on numbers _and_ customer opinion. _No one_ has managed to recreate designs that are even half as good as mine, people don’t understand how I manage to create such different but still user friendly operating systems, and the US military almost exclusively refuses to go to anyone else if they need tech help mostly because I hacked into the Pentagon when I was 14 on a dare and now they’re scared of me. So yeah, that’s an objective opinion. And I was bored with the way I was coding anyways, no time like the present to figure out new ways to make computers do stuff,” he says, turning back to the shitty, out of date laptop James insisted was good. It fucking _wasn’t_ , Tony was building better stuff than this piece of junk when he was twelve but he had to make do.

There was a lot to do, a lot of evidence to gather, and figuring out a way to slip it off to the proper authorities without raising suspicion, and then figuring out a way to come back from the metaphorical dead. And then there was the matter of shutting down any and all weapons manufacturing for good. He had made the decision almost as soon as he discovered what Obadiah was doing even if he hadn’t consciously admitted it, and as soon as he saw the _results_ of his weapons in terrorist hands well. Only a monster would continue to do what he was doing. Fuck, only a monster would have ever _considered_ doing what he already did let alone follow through with it. But he had to deal with other concerns first and Rhodey was getting antsy.

They’ve been communicating in subtle ways, ways most wouldn’t even look twice at considering that Rhodey was sending out communications to a superior officer to anyone who didn’t dig. And if they did dig it looked like coded messages, which wasn’t highly unusual considering Rhodey’s current position geographically and his position in the military itself. Any idiot would shrug at that and walk away, assuming that the information was sensitive. Anyone who dug past that would run into a rather nasty trap he and Rhodey built together on the fly that would obliterate everything and anything said person has ever done ever using technology.

Shit, they were so thorough if some idiot sprung that they probably wouldn’t be able to use a _toaster_ ever again. Sure they’d discover that they were on to something, but they’d also end up permanently fucked if they ever tried to use a computer again unless they came up with a whole new identity and took very specific and near impossible steps to not reveal their true identity. Figuring out a way past that was near impossible- they could do it, but it’d take so much time and effort that it wouldn’t be worth it.

James sighs. “Alright. How long do you think this will take?” he asks.

Tony snorts, “what, are you hurting to be rid of me that bad?” he asks.

This earns him an eye roll, “no. I miss the roses,” he says and Tony can’t tell if it’s sarcasm or not.

“Well the roses will be there when you get back, JARVIS is on making sure they’ve been watered and whatever. And Pepper too but JARVIS is more reliable on account of not having to knowingly work with a man that’s a terrorist and pretend she doesn’t know. You know, because JARVIS can’t get scared.” Pepper, shit Tony felt bad for her. He’s put her in bad positions before, _bad_ positions. But this had to take the cake and when he got back, assuming he did actually manage to do this all right and still have a name for himself after, and Pepper inevitably quit he would graciously accept that and hand her a hefty severance package. And pay for her retirement. And a new car just because she earned that and then some. Maybe he’d even get her one of those ugly ass hairless cats she had a strange love for and couldn’t convince him to get no matter how hard she tried.

James frowns, “you made sure to tell your AI to water the roses?” he asks.

Tony shrugs, “you like them. Can you find that sweater I bought? That fucking hideous one you forced me to buy that has no style and looks like goat shit? I’m cold,” he says. James rolls his eyes at him and goes to find the sweater.

*

Tracking every wrongdoing Obadiah Stane as ever committed took time but Tony insisted on having all the evidence to all his misdeeds in case charges fell through. The point, James supposed, was to bury Obadiah so far down in charges he couldn’t climb out. At first he thought Tony was for some reason stalling for time but he was quickly proven wrong. Tony spent almost all of his time tracking Obadiah’s every move, gathering every piece of incriminating evidence, and painstakingly organizing everything into neat, individual piles. It was methodical, intelligent, and straight up neurotic in nature. Treason was a charge that was enough to bury Obadiah but Tony refused to leave it at just that and that was how James learned that Tony Stark wasn’t good at business or technology out of luck or sheer intelligence. No, he was good at these things because he was _thorough_.

He’s never seen someone look at details the way Tony did. He looked at things from _every_ angle and even from a few he doubted anyone would even consider and then he planned around it. Watching him was simultaneously incredible and exhausting and oddly James enjoyed it. He had thought that spending time with Tony would be like pulling teeth given how much he knew of the man but it wasn’t. It seemed when no one was around except a ghost who didn’t even know his own name Tony dropped every pretense of the mask he wore far too often. It took time to get used to this new Tony Stark but James found that he liked the snarky, ridiculous, and obviously anxious Tony far better than his arrogant counterpart. He even liked the name Tony picked for him- it felt familiar to him somehow. For the first time in a long time he felt comfortable, like he could truly relax and ironically he was on the run with a billionaire who’s business partner was trying to kill him.

“So,” Tony says after he mercifully gives up on tracking Obadiah’s communications with various terror groups. “If you were to have a name, any name, which one would it be?” he asks.

James frowns and then shrugs, “don’t know. They all feel sort of foreign to me. I like James though.”

Tony rolls his eyes, “you’re boring. I’d be Adrian- it means ‘king’,” he says.

“Subtle,” James says sarcastically.

Tony snorts, “Anthony means ‘highly praiseworthy’, that’s hardly _less_ subtle. James means ‘supplanter’ so that’s cool. Got any plans to overthrow the government?” Tony asks, grinning.

He shakes his head, “not presently, no. Do you?” he asks because if anyone was going to overthrow the government it would be Tony.

For a moment Tony considers it but then he shakes his head, “nah. I hate politics.”

James raises an eyebrow, “really?” he asks. “Why?” He personally found politics fascinating even if he’d never want to involve himself in them.

Tony wrinkles his nose, “ew, you’re one of those freaks that _likes_ politics. It’s too much bullshit for me though, it’s always ‘act this way’ and ‘do that thing’ and ‘say this but not that’. It’s not real, none of it, and that’s why people keep getting fucked over. If they were more concerned about actually helping people instead of keeping appearances we’d be better off.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong. “I just think it’s all interesting, I don’t want to like… be a politician. Pretty sure you need a name for that,” he says and Tony laughs.

“Was that a joke, James?” he asks.

“Now that you pointed it out it isn’t funny,” James tells him.

“Totally is,” Tony says and James shakes his head.

“You are probably the weirdest person I have ever met,” James says.

Tony smiles, “good. I take that as a compliment, means I’m different.” That, James thinks, is an understatement.

*

Tony had gotten bored so he decided to drag James shopping with him even if they weren’t going to buy anything. “What’s the point then?” James asks.

“It’s therapeutic,” Tony tells him, “now come on,” he says, dragging him through a mall. By the time they get to a toy store James is well and truly done with Tony’s poking at things and asking store clerks stupid questions but when Tony saw those toys that repeated whatever you said to them he couldn’t resist.

James allows Tony to drag him into yet another store and he picks up the ugly looking… he thinks it’s a dog but truthfully he wasn’t certain. He turns the toy on and proceeds to turn every single other toy on the long shelf on while James frowns at him in confusion. Once his trap was set he grins at the first dog toy thing and speaks. “Suck my dick,” he says, quickly sticking it back on the shelf with the other toys. The dog toy repeats his words and the other toys around it repeat the phrase. The more toys pick up the phrase the more repeat it back and Tony watches as an entire shelf of children’s toys start yelling ‘suck my dick’ in his voice and he _cackles_.

He turns to James with a smile on his face only to find James doubled over laughing so hard he wasn’t making any noise. “Oh my _god_ ,” he wheezes out, “I can’t believe you just did that.”

Tony, out of years of experience with this, spots the store clerk running towards the toys long before the clerk could see him and James so he grabs James and drags him off to another section of the store to watch the ensuing chaos. “God damnit,” the worker mumbles as they get to the wall, but the words carry enough to get to the toys and they all repeat the phrase, going down the line until the whole shelf was yelling ‘god damnit’.

“Of for _fuck_ sakes,” the worker says- this time plenty loud enough for the toys to catch and they all start yelling in sync as the poor worker tries desperately to turn them all off.

James has to lean on Tony to not fall over from laughing so hard and Tony happily holds him up as he watches the chaos he created slowly drive the poor worker insane. “You might be evil,” James tells him, “but that was the fucking funniest thing I have ever seen a person do.”

“In my defense you don’t have much to compare to,” he says.

James shrugs, “I still think it’d rank high even if I did. We should probably go before they catch us,” he says and Tony nods, already headed in the direction he planned out as his exit route.

*

It takes almost five months, many adventures with James, and the realization that pizza was now his god tier of foods before Tony decides that maybe he had enough information to hand over to… someone. It ended up being Rhodey who gave him a contact, which was how he ended up meeting Agent and then quickly deciding that he hated Agent, but he did at least get some kind of protection.

SHIELD happened to be an organization that Tony knew about thanks to Howard’s old files but he hadn’t ever come in contact with them until Rhodey sent them his way. Apparently they dealt with weird cases. Tony didn’t think Obi counted as weird but he was absolutely high profile. James had obviously come with him to SHIELD but he seemed… uncomfortable there.

“Are you alright?” Tony asks after he had handed over everything he had on Obadiah. James looks shaken and pale.

“I don’t know,” he whispers, “but this place feels familiar.”

Tony looks around as if he could figure out why it would look familiar to James by doing so but finds nothing out of the ordinary. It was like any other government building albeit with more red and blue added to the white. There also seemed to be Captain America references all over the place but that was unsurprising considering Peggy Carter, one of the original founders of the organization, named it after him. Apparently the woman had been friends with Howard but after doing his research Tony had no idea how that was possible given how independent and generally badass she was and how much of an asshole Howard was to anyone but especially women.

She didn’t seem the type to put up with that sort of thing, or maybe she didn’t given that Tony never did meet her. Good for her honestly- anyone who escaped Howard’s shit had his automatic respect. That, and the fact that Peggy Carter almost single handedly changed the course of World War Two when she encouraged Steve Rogers to break a bunch of rules. He got the credit, but Tony took more inspiration from Peggy than Cap- sure Cap was technically the hero but Peggy was the little devil on his shoulder telling him to do the stupid, if brave, thing. But then that could have easily been a result of his loathing Captain America thanks to his father constantly comparing Tony to him and whining about how he’d never live up.

Who could blame him for finding someone else more interesting? It wasn’t like Peggy Carter was a step down given that she was a world-class spy and continued to be one of the few people who shaped the way the US functioned presently. She was just as cool; she just didn’t get enough credit for it. And Howard would never use _her_ as a method to explain how shitty he was always going to be.

Point was he knew a lot about SHIELD and it’s founders because he knew them, or knew people who did. He didn’t see how or why James would have a connection to them because this wasn’t their thing. Spy work, and according to Rhodey, weird happenings were their thing. James might be a weird happening but that was mostly because he’s been following Tony around for a decade and a half and apparently sleeping with his roses or in his garage. That was mostly only weird to him, not weird in general. So what had him so on edge?

“Familiar how?” Tony asks him but James just shrugs. Tony sighs, “we won’t be here long I hope. Agent is unfreezing my accounts, or probably trying to anyways. JARVIS probably won’t take too kindly to it even with my passwords.”

James still looks shaken and confused but Tony’s statement gives him something to latch onto, “passwords?” he asks.

Tony nods, “security measures I have in case I need to do something from a computer I’m not usually behind. JARVIS will know right away it isn’t me because I can bypass his system entirely so he’ll prompt for passwords. It probably won’t matter if Agent gets them all right, JARVIS is still likely to kick him out.”

“Why?” James asks, eyebrows drawing together.

“No definitive proof it’s me. I have my ways to bypass this if, for whatever reason, I can’t get past JARVIS entirely and the AI knows it. He’s just protective.” Tony had Pepper test the features out once and she got annoyed and flustered and Tony knew she would have tried everything she knew, which was a lot, before giving up.

“Protective? Isn’t JARVIS an AI?” he asks.

Tony laughs, “well yeah but he’s attached to me still. I mean he can’t technically feel the whole range of human emotions but I’ve done a good job coding a few in and he’s semi-autonomous so he can technically code himself within reason too. One of the first things he did was develop a particular loyalty to me above all else. When I asked why- he’s supposed to function like a person by the way- he said it was because I was the only one who talked to him like he was smart enough to respond back.”

James snorts and shakes his head, “clearly he takes after the guy that made him. You’d say the same thing if you were an AI probably,” he says. Tony nods because yeah, he probably would.

Yeah, probably Tony thinks. “Are you going to be okay?” he asks after a moment. James seems to consider this for a moment, casting a suspicious look around the room before nodding.

“I… why did you plant the roses?” he asks. “It’s been bothering me for a long time, the why of it I mean.”

Tony raises an eyebrow, “you liked them,” he says.

James frowns, “so? You… you act to selfish, and rude, and cruel, and just… unpleasant. So why would you go out of your way to plant flowers for someone who’s basically stalking you?” he asks.

He had no idea what James wanted him to say so for the first time maybe ever he thinks about why he planted the flowers.

*

Tony had called for a press conference after Obadiah’s arrest and they were on their way to SI when Tony finally answers James’ question about the flowers. “You’re probably the only person I’ve every met who didn’t crowd into my life and pretend like you knew me. I mean yeah you were technically stalking me but you never asked for anything, you never tried to hurt me, hell, you never even _spoke_ to me until my life was in danger. I guess the flowers were a thank you,” he says softly.

He’s looking out the window rather than at James and by now he knows that it’s because Tony wasn’t good at emotions. It was why he only ever seemed to talk to people and open up when he was drunk, and its why he avoided all questions about emotional subjects when he was talking in interviews or to reporters. Or he was a flippant asshole. But for the moment he was real and James considers this for several minutes before he reaches out and squeezes Tony’s knee. He goes to pull his hand back but Tony reaches out, still not looking at him, and captures his hand before he can. For the rest of the ride they sit like that, tentatively holding hands as Tony draws some kind of comfort from James’ presence.

When they get to SI James has no idea what Tony has planned, just that Tony has considered every single possible angle of how this was going to go before doing whatever it is he has planned. He had to admit that he was curious, and when they meet Pepper she’s clearly curious too but less about Tony and more about James. “Who’s this?” she asks as she hugs Tony, who clearly wasn’t expecting it even if he hugs her tightly back. Pepper hadn’t been expecting that and James guesses that maybe she thought Tony hadn’t missed her that much. He had, James knew, because he talked about her and Rhodey all the time.

Tony looks back at him and considers his answer. “Uh… a friend. We met when I was ‘missing’,” he tells her.

Pepper gives him a suspicious look and gently prods Tony forward and away from him. Tony only takes a single step forward before he turns and holds his hand out to James. He’s surprised by the action but he can see the traces of fear around Tony’s expression. This wasn’t the kind of thing he did, reaching out to people, literally or no. James steps forward and takes his hand, ignoring how tightly Tony held it as they walked through the hallways to where this meeting was being held. When they enter the room Tony drops his hand and steps towards to podium at the front of the room and James sticks by the outskirts like usual, watching Tony from afar. Tony looks over at him and he smiles. Tony takes a deep breath, takes the cue cards Pepper hands to him and steps up to the podium as everyone in the room quiets down.

Things remain silent for a moment as Tony looks at his cue cards and, predictably, he tosses them in the garbage beside the podium. James watches as Pepper cringes her hand reaching out just a little to her fallen work before Tony speaks and his attention is diverted elsewhere. “Uh, hey everyone. I… would like to say that I’ve recently had some time to think about my life and where its going, and what my company and my talents have to offer the world. I’ve found out a lot of things about Stark Industries that I wish weren’t true, some of which most of you already know. We all know I’ve made mistakes- many of them public- but becoming okay with a system that lacks accountability is probably the stupidest thing I’ve done. So that’s why, effective immediately, I’m shutting down the weapons sector of Stark Industries.”

At this point the crowd goes wild and Pepper’s jaw drops. Tony looks over to James and he smiles, proud that for the first time in a long, _long_ time Tony did something good for the world and for himself.

*

“You know of all the things I thought people would say about my decision I didn’t think anyone would be mad because I decided I had more to offer the world than things that blow up. I don’t see why they don’t understand my decision,” Tony says, shaking his head as yet another set of newscasters disparage his name.

“You wouldn’t have understood your decision not long ago too,” James reminds him.

Tony sighs and leans into his side. He’s become liberal with affection since they were stuck gathering evidence on Obi for several months together. Pepper thought the whole thing was strange and she thought James was up to something but he wasn’t. He… loved Tony. It took awhile to identify the emotion both in Tony and in himself but they understood each other in a soft, easy way. He disliked Tony a lot less after spending a lot of one on one time with him away from the cameras and his usual lifestyle. Seeing him away from his usual life and in a state of learning did wonders for James’ perception of him. Granted Tony still slipped back into his old, arrogant ways when the camera was pointed at him but James knew there was something beyond that and even still Tony wasn’t nearly as bad as he used to be.

“I get that- but not long ago I would have had no context for this decision. These people have _plenty_ of context and somehow I’m a bad person for _not_ blowing people up needlessly? I don’t get it,” he says, shaking his head.

“They think what you used to- that you were doing the right thing by making weapons.” James… he didn’t like weapons. They made him squeamish for some reason so he understood why Tony would choose to stop selling weapons far more than he understood why he’d build them. The American public was less forgiving but Tony wasn’t an idiot either- he had plans to replace his most profitable sector of his company and he was dedicating it to something good- clean energy. James approved and so did most human right’s groups not that they were too quick to give Tony credit for much given his past.

“I don’t think I was ever doing anything right. I just wanted to bury my head in the sand and pretend that what I was doing was right because I couldn’t handle the consequences of what happened if I wasn’t. I was foolish and arrogant and thousands died because of it,” he says, tone harsh and berating. James agrees though so he doesn’t do much to comfort Tony. They both knew what he thought of Tony’s previous business.

“You learned,” James says eventually. “That’s more than most people do.”

Tony shakes his head and stands up, pacing in front of James back and forth a few times before he stops. “You don’t understand. I pride myself in always learning, always improving- I never _ever_ want to settle into a state of comfort where I think I know everything there is to know and that I’ve done everything there is to do. I pride myself on always being open to learning and I didn’t do that- I didn’t do that for _years_ and when Christine called my on my bullshit I told her off like _she_ was wrong,” he shakes his head. “For a genius I’m pretty fucking stupid.”

This James doesn’t agree with- at least not totally- so he reaches out to Tony. “Yeah, there’s no denying you were stupid and if you’re talking about that blonde reporter yeah, she was right. But here’s the thing- I watch people all the time and when they realize they’re wrong most of the time they ignore it. Or they’ll do mental backflips to justify why their wrong opinion is right, or they’ll make excuses for themselves. You didn’t do any of that. The first thing you did was find every conceivable way to right your wrongs and to learn from them. If you do that every time you make a mistake than you will always learn and do better. I know you can do that,” he says gently. This was, arguably, the hardest thing he’s ever had to do and when he got real evidence for his misdeeds he rectified them immediately. Most people would have thought putting Obadiah in prison was enough but as usual Tony took it an extra step further.

Tony considers his words for a few moments before collapsing into his lap and letting out a deep breath. “Thank you,” he breathes out. “You’re probably one of the only people I know that would give me an honest opinion instead of telling me what I want to hear.” No, James thinks, he was the _only_ person who would give Tony an honest opinion. Pepper and Rhodey obviously cared about him, but neither were as willing as they should be to call Tony out on his ridiculous and often reprehensible behavior. James didn’t mind filling the position though- he knew now that Tony would listen even if he had to force him to a little.

*

When Obadiah calls Tony knows it’s a stupid idea to go to the damn prison but like an idiot he does. Maybe it was because he wanted to understand Obi or maybe it was because he was holding out a stupid and childish hope for an apology. Either way he didn’t get what he wanted.

“I’ve heard some rumors,” Obadiah tells him almost as soon as his ass hits the chair and that stupid phone thing is off the hook. His voice sounds weird through the receiver.

“Rumors always fly around,” Tony says dismissively.

“You have a boy toy. Didn’t take you for gay,” Obi says and Tony rolls his eyes. Whatever half of the public wasn’t focused on Tony’s company was making stupid speculations about his sexuality.

“I’m not gay,” Tony tells him. “And you didn’t call me here to talk about my love life- you can read all the theories in the news. What do you want, Obadiah?”

Obadiah smiles and Tony can feel the bottom of his stomach drop out from underneath him. Whatever happened next, Tony knew, he wouldn’t like it. “You stupid child, did you even read that file on your parents? You should- especially since you shacked up with your parents’ murderer. I might have been pissed off that you managed to land me in prison if I didn’t get the pleasure of watching you do something so incredibly unforgivable.”

All Tony can hear is the ringing in his ears.

*

“Remember when you said something happened to you the night my parents died?” Tony asks James- _actual_ fucking James Barnes. Because he checked Obi’s facts and they weren’t wrong. Tony even did a fucking DNA test just in case. This was James Barnes and… and Tony had no fucking clue what to think. He had years of history with the man even if nothing really came of it until recently, but he’d been around since Tony’s parents died. Convenient, that. You’d think Tony would have noticed that he never seemed to age despite being visibly twenty something when he first caught sight of him. Jesus _Christ_ for a genius he was fucking _stupid_.

James looks up from the book he’s reading and Tony can tell he’s confused- _genuinely_ confused. This wasn’t some weird, elaborate ruse to fuck with him and he can’t tell if that makes this all better or worse. “Yeah, but I don’t remember. I don’t remember anything before you,” he says and yeah, Tony found the reason for that too. Turns out Bucky had been found by HYDRA and turned into some kind of assassin. The details were sketchy but clearly they fucked with his mind and got ahold of some super soldier serum, as evidenced by his lack of aging. “Tony, what’s wrong?” he asks, attentively noting that he was upset in a way few others would. Even Pepper had barely even caught his mood change and she had just attributed it to Obadiah.

He lets out a breath and runs his fingers through his hair- it was a bit long and needed to be cut. “Hey,” James- _Bucky_ \- says, standing up. “It’s okay,” he murmurs, reaching for Tony but he darts out of reach at a speed he didn’t even know he could achieve.

“Don’t,” he says in a harsh warning tone that surprises even him. “I- have something to show you,” he says eventually because he should explain. He instructs JARVIS to play the video, the one he’s already watched twice, and he leaves before it can play again.

*

Bucky remembered now- remembered too much really. Tony- he had been his next target because… well he didn’t know why but he guessed that it was probably Obadiah ordering the prodigal son of Howard Stark dead too. He wanted to feel guilty, to feel _anything_ but all he felt when he thought of that time was cold and empty. There was nothing there- no feelings, no thoughts except his orders, _nothing_ and he couldn’t tell Tony any of that. He couldn’t look him dead in the eye and tell him he felt nothing when he killed his parents. That would… god, that would be fucking _cruel_.

When Tony takes off he doesn’t blame him and he considers leaving too- Tony didn’t deserve to have his parents’ murderer hanging out in his home- but JARVIS told him he was under explicit instructions to let him stay. Bucky doesn’t know what to make of that any more than he did when he noticed the roses.

*

Tony needed something, anything, to do so he chose to find and clean up his weapons across the Middle East. He’s in Afghanistan when he meets Yinsen and surprisingly they make a fast connection. Yinsen was smart, capable, and far more forgiving to Tony than he would be to himself. Tony’s weapons killed his whole family, his whole fucking _village_ was wiped out actually, but when he met Tony he had graciously shook his hand and accepted his help. Tony didn’t think he had it in his to be so forgiving to someone who took so much from him. He hated Obadiah’s guts after all and he didn’t even take anything of Tony’s really.

“Thank you,” Tony says to him one night. The tent they were in was uncomfortable and if Tony never had to deal with sand again he’d be fucking blessed.

Yinsen looks over, “for what?” he asks.

He snorts, “I swear only you could even ask that. For being nice enough to put up with me- I’ve taken everything from you and you… why have you been so nice to me?” he asks because he was _dying_ to know.

This earns him a laugh, “you think I’m naïve,” he says and Tony shakes his head.

“No. I think you’re brave, probably the bravest person I’ve ever met and not just because you regularly help people flee from terrorists. I all but killed your family myself and you… you don’t seem to hate me. It takes some serious guts to be that forgiving,” Tony says, shaking his head.

Yinsen laughs, “forgiveness wasn’t easy for me, believe me. I thought when I saw you I’d hate you, I did before, but when I met you you were just a man. In my head you were this mythical beast who took everything from me and was foolishly trying to give it back with your futile efforts to clean up your own mess. But when I met you you were tired, sad, and genuinely sorry. I didn’t know what to make of it so I chose to see it for what it was. You weren’t who I thought you were and accepting that helped me let go.”

Yeah, Tony so wasn’t that nice. He would have tried to tear his own head off and he would have deserved it too. “I don’t deserve that,” he says honestly.

“And what do you deserve, Stark? To wallow in your mistakes forever, to lose everything you love to your weapons too? Do you even have family?” he asks and Tony considers it. Pepper has been someone he’s long since considered a friend, Happy too, but he paid them both to be around. And Rhodey- he was like a brother to Tony but he knew he cared more about Rhodey than Rhodey cared about him. That was fair too- Tony didn’t hold it against him. And then there was Bucky but Tony didn’t even want to think about him right now.

“No,” he says finally. “They were killed in a car crash almost two decades ago.”

“By Obadiah Stane,” Yinsen says. “He almost ruined everything else you had too, and almost took your life. In a way you’ve suffered just as much from your weapons as the rest of us.”

Tony lets out a sharp laugh, “yeah, minus the bit where I’m rich and famous and everyone who got bombed by my weapons is homeless and displaced,” he says bitterly. He didn’t deserve any of this- it was fucking blood money at best. People _died_ so he could make his bottom line higher, how fucked up was that?

“You have everything a man could ask for,” Yinsen says, “but you have nothing at all.”

“I have everything that matters,” Tony says. Money talked- and he wasn’t a total idiot. Money would solve most everyone’s problems here. If they had the money to rebuild their homes, or to immigrate, or to feed themselves, whatever. Tony would have to be completely obtuse to think that he was really suffering when he was surrounded by a level of misery he’s never felt and, if he was lucky, never would.

“If you had everything you needed than why are you so incredibly lonely?” Yinsen asks, raising an eyebrow at Tony. “Money doesn’t buy happiness, or family, or anything else people really need.”

No- but money ensured that he got to live a life most only dreamed of. For most people that was enough, he was just selfish enough to want more.

*

When the first missiles hit Tony is still asleep even if that only lasts a matter of seconds before he and Yinsen are both up and running. They had, apparently, both thought of the same thing and were headed to the makeshift hospital when an artillery shell lands right in front of them. Tony thinks for a precious few seconds before he reaches forward at the same time Yinsen reaches back and takes a step to the left, blocking Tony’s view of his own fucking weapon. He tries to push Yinsen out of the way with the matter of seconds he has left but it doesn’t work and they both go flying when the bomb goes off. They both had bullet proof vests on but there was only so much that could do.

The ringing in his ears takes a long, long time to stop but eventually he’s able to force himself to sit up and look around. Everything was a mess and, not far from him, Yinsen lay bleeding. At first Tony thought he was dead but then he calls out for him. Tony’s heart squeezes in his chest and he crawls over at the fastest speed he could manage. That wasn’t very fast.

“G- go back to him,” Yinsen tells him and Tony frowns.

“Huh?” he asks, lacking something more intelligent to say.

“The one you left behind, I’ve seen the papers,” Yinsen squeezes out. Tony really didn’t think he should be wasting his breath on this shit.

“Stop talking, you’re hurt pretty bad,” he says, looking around for something, anything, to stop the bleeding.

“I’m dying,” Yinsen tells him.

“Not if I can help it,” Tony shoots back. There was nothing around here that he could use to stop the bleeding- most other material, including the material on his own body- was covered in blood and he didn’t want to risk infection or worse.

“Stop,” Yinsen tells him. “I’m going to die and you need to listen.” Tony isn’t sure why he stops and looks down at him. His mind was still racing through fifty million ways to save Yinsen but his body stops. “Go back and find happiness. Don’t waste your life,” he says and he shuts his eyes.

“Damnit- no, no, no!” Tony yells, wanting to shake Yinsen but logically he knows that’s a stupid thing to do.

*

The next time Bucky hears about Tony explicitly its because the village he was in in Afghanistan was bombed and, against all odds, he saved a man’s life with the help of a doctor who had just been in the right place at the right time. Tony had come back to America with said man but hadn’t made any comments to any reporters with the exception of telling them all to fuck off.

He had no idea what to expect so he expects nothing aside from maybe to get kicked out of Tony’s house, which he thought was more than fair. So he’s surprised when Tony comes home and actively seeks him out. Bucky had made sure to make himself scarce as soon as he heard Tony come through the door, but Tony told JARVIS to tell him to stay put because Tony wanted to talk to him. For a long few moments he remained still and silent as he waited for Tony and whatever was to come but when Tony finds him he looks older, tired, and in need of a spa day.

“Do you remember them?” he asks. They both know what he means.

Bucky looks away. “I remember all of them now,” he whispers. He didn’t want to but he deserved to.

“W- was it quick?” Tony asks softly.

He didn’t want the answer to that so Bucky lies at least in part. “Yeah.” Howard was bludgeoned to death but Maria’s death lasted longer. Strangling someone to death with your bare hands wasn’t as easy as it seemed, even with super soldier strength. She suffered more than Howard even if, technically, their deaths weren’t exactly drawn out.

“I-” Tony starts but he cuts himself off, thinking. “What we had, whatever that was, was that real?” he asks.

Bucky laughs but it sounds more like a painful bark, “I couldn’t even remember my own fucking name, you think I could have faked caring about you? That was all real and I am so, _so_ sorry,” he says. He couldn’t even imagine what that must have been like for Tony, finding out that the guy who essentially acted as his shadow for years turned lover was actually his parents’ murderer. That must have been heart wrenching.

Tony seems to let out a breath of relief. “Okay,” he says. “Okay. Look- I know it’s fucked up and god knows my parents would never forgive me but I don’t know if I can let you go. I don’t know if I can let the only person in my life who was willing to tell me what a shitty person I was and was willing to push me until I actually fucking did something about it go. I need someone like that in my life.”

He shrugs, “you would have figured it out eventually,” he says.

“Yeah,” Tony agrees, “and how many more people would have died because I took longer to reach an obvious conclusion? I shouldn’t have needed your file, but having it thrown in my face like that is something I will always be grateful for. Please-” Tony’s voice breaks and he looks away, unable to complete what he wanted to say.

It didn’t really matter because Bucky knew anyways. He steps forward slowly, giving Tony plenty of time to move away if he wanted, before gently wrapping his arms around him. Tony leans heavily into his chest and Bucky lets out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding and for a long, long time they stay like that.

*

“Please stop tinkering with my chest plate,” Yinsen tells Tony not that he’d ever listen. Bucky shakes his head as Tony moves off with Yinsen’s old reactor design, forcing him to accept the updated version of Tony’s design in his chest.

“That one is better,” Tony insists.

Yinsen sighs, “be that as it may that one was _fine_ ,” he says.

“Was not- the new one is much more efficient,” he counters.

Poor Yinsen looks like he wants to rip his own hair and Tony’s out. “Tony, this will only be in until Strange can figure out how to get the metal shards out of my heart,” he reminds him.

He shrugs, “doesn’t mean you can’t have a better design in the meantime, Stephen says figuring stuff out might take awhile,” he says.

Yinsen looks over to Bucky but he raises his hands in surrender, “don’t look at me, Tony is _way_ too stubborn to argue with,” he says even though he didn’t think that was even remotely true. Tony looks victorious though and Yinsen sighs.

“Fine, but at least let me repay you somehow. You’ve been too generous,” he says and Tony snorts.

“Buddy, I killed your entire village, this is the least I can do especially considering you _saved my life_ ,” Tony points out.

“You’ve paid for all my medical care, you’re paying for my housing, you set up a charity in my name, and you keep tinkering with this chest plate- I think you’ve done enough to repay me,” Yinsen says but Bucky can already see that Tony thinks that this is inconceivable. To him he’d never be done repaying Yinsen for what he did to him in the same way that Bucky would never be able to forgive himself for what he’s done to Tony no matter how much Tony insisted that he was over it. He wasn’t, Bucky could tell, but he didn’t blame Bucky for his parents’ deaths. That and he had a convenient distraction in the form of their tentative relationship and one very plucky Yinsen, who disliked being pampered.

All Yinsen wanted was to get back into the medical profession, or at least he did until Tony made an effort to help him out there. It was almost amusing watching the Yinsen try to avoid having Tony do things for him while Tony aggressively pressed on doing things for Yinsen.

“Well,” Tony says, “I think that’s the least I can do so deal with it.” Yinsen sighs but accept his fate as Tony goes on to ask some questions about the Ten Rings. As of late they were running a joint task force of trying to rid the Middle East in particular of Stark weapons.

“Bucky,” Yinsen says, drawing him out of thought, “how is your part in this going?” Bucky had been lucky enough to pick up some of the efforts to rid the world of Stark weaponry. With the help of Phil, or as Tony liked to call him, Agent, he was pulling weapons from all around the U.S. He liked the work- it was something for him to do, it was helpful to Tony, and it was nice to do something good for the world after screwing it up so much with his actions even if he’d never really make up for it.

“It’s going alright. The old men in Kansas protesting the mass recall were hilarious until they pulled their guns but don’t worry- SHIELD made sure they didn’t shoot anyone or each other _and_ they took all their guns,” he says, amused with the whole thing.

Tony snorts, “that’s almost funnier than that time with the dog toys,” he says and Bucky bursts out laughing.

“Oh no, the toys were funnier. And it’s still the second funniest thing I’ve ever seen even with all my memories back,” he says. The first funniest thing went to Stevie trying to ask poor Peggy Carter out only to have Peggy tell him when and where they were going on their date while he stammered his agreement.

Tony smiles and looks at Bucky in a way that makes Yinsen look away as if he was intruding on a private moment. Bucky smiles back because for the first time in a long, _long_ time he felt something and that something was beautiful.

**Author's Note:**

> [My writing Tumblr](https://tenspencerriedplease.tumblr.com/)


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